Page 15 of Kiss of Seduction (Court of Chains #1)

Natalya looked down at the torn-up floorboards. The ground beneath was overturned, and a tarp was tucked partially into the earth. A vampire had rested here.

They had been close. So close. According to Cassius and Diana, who found the place, it had only been about a day or two since Stefano was in the area. Natalya felt like she’d been cheated out of a meal.

“Tracks lead south.” Aleksander walked up next to her. “I’m sending the Lucans to follow, but I’m guessing he’s long gone. Even slowed down by fiend blood.”

“Well, he’s satiated.” Natalya glanced at the corpse of an old man lying crumpled in the corner. “That would certainly help.”

The man had been dead for a few days, and the secluded cabin they were in belonged to him.

The timeline matched with the night Evie was attacked, and Stefano had run off.

Poisoned by fiendish ichor, he’d needed time to recuperate.

He’d holed up in the cabin until he was ready to run home to Varro, tail between his legs.

“This is a crime even by Night standards,” Aleksander said. “Killing humans outside your territory. Especially after the agreement we made with the Heartlands. Varro won’t be popular after this.”

“If we could prove it. We only have the word of our own trackers Stefano was here, and that isn’t considered a reliable source to most other Courts.”

Aleksander made a dissatisfied noise. “There were other tracks too. Unknown vampires. I suspect Night affiliated.”

He glanced at Natalya’s shoulder, where black ichor produced a faint trail of smoke. A Night vampire was present when they arrived, one with a happy trigger finger and silver bullets in her gun. Probably a scout left behind by Stefano.

They couldn’t be certain. Drago had accompanied them out of the high-rise, and he’d ripped the vampire’s head off as soon as she fired the gun.

He’d never seen Natalya be attacked, or even injured, and his reaction would almost be sweet if it wasn’t so impractical. The vampire could have had information.

“This is why I don’t come out on patrols.” She gestured at her now-holed dress. “I don’t like getting shot. It ruins my clothes.”

“It was meant for me. You’re the one who moved in front of it,” Aleksander said. “If you dislike it so much, why did you come? You could have gotten a report when we returned.”

“I take it personally when someone bites me. When I heard Stefano might be in the area, I wanted a chance to rip his fangs out myself.”

She hoped the words would satisfy Aleksander’s curiosity since they weren’t entirely incorrect. There was nothing she wanted more than to slowly tear Stefano apart. It was just the reasoning that wasn’t transparent.

“Motivated by revenge then?” Aleksander didn’t sound convinced. “For you or someone else?”

Natalya sneered. She appreciated Aleksander’s talent for sniffing out lies and deception. But only when he used his gift on other people.

“We promised Evie protection. I promised her. Stefano made me break that promise.” Natalya took a deep breath that sounded a little like a snarl. “He’s like Rollo. He likes them afraid and in pain. Varro has a type, it seems.”

Aleksander growled at that. He had a unique hatred for the King of the Heartlands.

Varro had sent his eldest spawn, Rollo, to infiltrate the Chains several years before.

It culminated in an assassination attempt on Aleksander, where both he and Lily almost died.

Natalya understood that hatred better than ever now.

There was a sudden flare of fear in her chest. It was the same kind as the night Evie was attacked, except more sudden and fading quickly. It didn’t vanish like when she’d been enthralled. Instead it lingered.

“There could be other Night vampires nearby,” Aleksander said. “I’ll send out patrols to investigate the area. We might get lucky.”

“Right.” Natalya was distracted. Evie’s fear was still there. Much weaker now, but constant. Something had scared her.

“Everything alright?” Aleksander glanced at the bullet wound in her shoulder.

“It’s nothing.” She tried to appear nonchalant. “You don’t need me for scouting. I’ll return to the high-rise.”

Aleksander narrowed his eyes. “Why the rush?”

She didn’t want to tell him it was worry for Evie that drew her back. But she also didn’t want to appear weak by blaming her injury. She couldn’t lie, though she didn’t want to be honest about her concern either.

“I’d like to check on Evie,” she said casually.

No one knew she could feel Evie’s emotions, and she planned on keeping it that way. All she could do was say an aspect of truth and hope Aleksander believed it.

He nodded, accepting her story. But the hard look in his eyes meant he knew there was something she wasn’t sharing. He also knew better than to try and make her talk. He’d only succeed in angering her if he did that.

The wise thing would be to stay and diffuse Aleksander’s suspicion that something may be amiss, but Natalya didn’t want to act wise right then. Rather than be smart, she started back towards the high-rise.

Evie was scared. Natalya needed to know why.

Evie ran a finger along the edge of her glass. She was in the kitchen of Natalya’s apartment, preferring the brightly lit space to the gloominess of the bedroom. She’d just woken up and didn’t want to go back to sleep yet. Not when nightmares waited for her.

A few minutes before, Evie had started awake so suddenly she almost screamed.

Another bad dream robbing her of rest. In it, she was in her chamber at Varro’s estate and a man with no discernable features had entered.

He’d pulled her up from the mattress, pinned her against the wall, and bit into her neck so ferociously he’d torn it apart.

When she woke up, the dark bedroom had looked so much like the chamber it almost made her panic. It took several seconds before she realized she was in the high-rise, and that the danger and pain had been left in sleep.

She’d exited the bedroom, hoping to find Natalya, but there was only quiet and darkness. It made the fear linger, to be all alone. Even though she knew nothing could get her and a guard was outside the door, it didn’t feel safe.

It hurt because she’d already been through this stage. She hadn’t been this scared of being alone in months. Stefano and Austin breaking into her apartment had ruined everything. It had set her back so far. It meant she had to start over. Sort of.

It was easier in the high-rise. She had friends there. Safety. She had Natalya. Oddly enough, that was the thing that comforted her the most.

Evie was about to take a sip of water when she heard the front door open and then slam shut.

There were rushing footsteps, someone saying her name, and then Natalya appeared in the entrance to the kitchen, seemingly out of nothing.

Evie started at her abrupt appearance, dropping the glass to shatter on the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” Evie quickly started picking up the pieces of glass. It looked expensive, and her jumpiness had broken it. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Her grip around the gathered shards tightened, and they dug into her skin deep enough to bleed.

“Evie, stop.” Natalya crouched in front of her and her hands went to Evie’s, keeping her from picking up more shards. “It’s just a glass. It doesn’t matter.”

Evie shuddered out a breath. She still wasn’t used to mistakes not being punished with pain.

“Are you alright?” Natalya sounded worried. “I sensed you. You were afraid.”

“I’m fine, I… I just had a nightmare.”

She felt unbelievably stupid for this sort of reaction. Whiny and embarrassed. Natalya had probably been busy with something important and then she’d rushed to the apartment to check on Evie because she had a bad dream .

Then she saw the wound on Natalya’s shoulder and the black blood covering her skin, and it made her forget her insecurities.

“You’re injured.”

Natalya followed her gaze, looking at her shoulder as though she’d only just noticed it was bleeding. “It’s not serious.”

“It looks serious.” The oozing wound was perfectly circular like it had come from a bullet. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“We just encountered an idiot.” Natalya gave her a calm smile. “It’s kind of you to worry, but there’s no need. Only few things can harm me. Other than Aleksander, I’m the strongest being in the Court. Being concerned for my safety is unwarranted.”

Evie didn’t know how to communicate that it didn’t really work like that. She couldn’t help that she worried. Even if it was true what Natalya said.

She was strong and powerful. She seemed invincible and so perfectly in control that Evie couldn’t imagine her as anything else. It was a powerful visage she made, one that would have been awe-inducing, even without her otherworldly beauty.

Natalya pulled Evie to her feet, carefully guiding her away from the broken glass to sit at the kitchen island. She left for a moment, returning with a first aid kit and her arm clean of black blood. Though there was still a wound in her shoulder.

“Did you get shot again?” Evie couldn’t help but sound a bit amused. Her worry had lessened as she saw Natalya moving with painless ease.

“It’s becoming a bad habit.” Natalya sat next to her and nodded at Evie’s hand. “Let me see.”

“Oh…” Evie had forgotten she’d been cut. Her hand was covered in blood and the realization made her breathing a little shallow. “You don’t need to. It’s fine.”

Natalya’s eyes took on a stern quality. “You’re bleeding, darling. Give me your hand.”

Her voice was calm but assertive. It was a tone that didn’t invite arguments. And her use of the word ‘darling’ made Evie feel strangely fuzzy inside.

“You’re bossy,” Evie muttered, giving Natalya her hand. Natalya huffed out a short laugh, the sternness fading from her eyes.

“You have no idea.”